What I Really Want for Christmas
By Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC
When I was 5 years old, I lost both my front teeth at the same time; it made for a funny kindergarten school picture! At this time of year, I sometimes think of that old song “All I Want for Christmas are my Two Front Teeth.”
But since I’m a grown up now, and my teeth have grown back, I want something very different.
In the world of “Star Trek,” there is a race called the Vulcans and they live on the planet Vulcan – rather convenient for naming purposes. The most well-known Vulcan character is Mr. Spock who served as the First Officer on the original starship Enterprise and was best friends with Captain Kirk. There were many humorous moments as Mr. Spock tried to understand his human friends and colleagues and their emotions.
While the Vulcans are known as creatures of pure logic and no emotions, their back story is anything but emotionless and reasonable. In fact, according to the storyline, the Vulcans were once a savage people driven by violence and pure emotion. Despite being highly intelligent people, they were on a path of planetary self-destruction. All they did was fight and feud.
What saved the Vulcans? And how did they change their ways to become the characters we know in the story? According to the storyline, there was a philosopher-leader named Surak. He convinced the Vulcans that unless they embraced logic and mastered their emotions, they would destroy themselves. They agreed and changed their culture and way of life. The Vulcans were not always the responsible, logical beings we know today but we do see how they evolved when they made different choices.
Evolution to avoid self-destruction seems like a pretty good idea to me. Which leads me to what I really want for Christmas.
Off and on for a number of years, I have told my husband that all I want for Christmas is a Surak for Earth. We need a philosopher-leader to bring us to our senses and stop the constant violence, arguing, fighting, abuse, and waste of time, energy, and resources that goes into trying to impose our will on each other.
Despite through the centuries many people trying to get the message across to all of us – Jesus of Nazareth, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, and a long list of philosopher-mystics – we haven’t found a person that can truly open our eyes to our common humanity. At least not yet.
We all know that positive choices and collaboration lead to much better outcomes – yet we all tend to mind our own business and look the other way. Which is why I want a Surak for Earth. We need someone to tell us it is okay to live differently. We don’t need to compete for resources or dominate others with a small-minded worldview or measure our worth in dollars or precious gems – or reactions on social media.
Like the famous song by John Lennon, I like to “Imagine” what we could do if we lived differently:
Imagine that we used 3D printing to make food. There could be more than enough for everyone and we wouldn’t put horrible pressure on the environment. Even better, we wouldn’t put animals through the horrors of being raised for butchering.
Imagine that we used software technology ONLY for testing products and medical advances. No more lab animals leading miserable lives.
Imagine if we used 3D printing to grow new organs from our own cells. Everyone would be healthier and it would remove the need for anti-rejection drugs.
Imagine that we agreed to an energy system that included all our options instead of “one or nothing.” Combining all of our options would help us be better stewards of the planet – because this gives us time to find an energy source that is renewable and powerful enough to support all the things that run on electricity.
Imagine that we all agreed that human slavery, which is what human trafficking is, does not serve anyone. If all countries said no to this, and we worked together to stop it, our world would become a more ethical and respectful place.
Imagine that everyone had the opportunity to pursue an education. Children and adults alike could find their path, or at least study something that excites them! An educated populace can make better decisions and education helps us better understand each other.
Imagine that we had Planetary Standards for Earth that we all agreed to so that we would govern ourselves better, take better care of each other, and respect our rights as individuals to live our lives as we choose.
So, that is what I want for Christmas. It may not be expensive jewelry or a new car, but my list is something that we can all share: hope for a better future where we realize our full potential.
Happy holidays from Rogue Tulips Consulting! May you and yours enjoy the season and have a wonderful New Year.
